Chapter Twenty-Four

A Taylor Family Christmas Eve

Saturday, December 24

"Aiden!" Becca yelled. "Your cat is staring at me."

"Take it as a compliment," Will said with a grin. He picked up the catnip mouse Aiden had thrown into Midnight's pet carrier. "Here, kitty. Leave the human alone and come sit with me." Becca and Kristen sat on the rug in front of the fire, surrounded by rolls of wrapping paper, tape, bows, and labels. A Christmas movie was playing on TV, but no one was watching it. Louise and Carl were taking part in another holiday tradition—going from house to house along the short street, taking small gifts to their neighbors and sharing a glass or two of something.

Once they'd left, Aiden had snickered. "Now you know the real reason Mom doesn't cook on Christmas Eve."

Becca pointed at Midnight. "Why did you have to bring him anyway?"

"His usual cat sitter is away for the holidays, and seeing as I'm staying here for two nights, I wasn't about to leave him on his own." Aiden took the mouse from Will and dangled it by its tail. "Come on, Midnight."

"So you're telling me Milwaukee doesn't have pet boarding services or Kitty Day Care centers?"

Aiden leaned into Will. "You think if we bribe Midnight with enough kitty treats, he'll shit in her shoes?"

Will had to bite down hard on his laughter.

Midnight didn't budge, but sat at the foot of the beautifully decorated tree, gazing up at it.

Aiden snickered. "You just know he's busy working out the best route to climb to the top before he forces it into submission."

Will chuckled. "I think he's surveying all those presents and trying to work out which ones are his."

Becca froze. "Tell me you didn't buy presents for your cat."

Aiden glared at her, but Will got in first. "Hey. It's Christmas for kitties too, y'know. He's family."

Aiden took Will's hand and kissed his fingers. "And that is why I love you."

The sound from the TV died. Becca stared at them, the remote in her hand.

"The L-word? Already?"

Will gave Aiden's thigh a squeeze. "To quote your brother… ‘When you know, you know.'"

"Aw, I think they're sweet. You're just jealous." Kristen kissed Becca's shoulder.

Becca widened her eyes. "Why would I be jealous?"

"Because it took you how long to get up enough nerve to tell me you loved me?"

She flushed. "Yeah, well—"

"But to be fair," Aiden interjected. "She has said it a lot since then." His eyes twinkled. "Mostly when she's on the phone."

"It doesn't matter how long it takes to bring you to the point where you can tell someone how you feel about them." Will's face grew warm, and it had nothing to do with the roaring fire. "What matters is that you get there."

Aiden said nothing but raised Will's hand to his lips once more.

"We'd better hurry up." Becca glanced at the clock on the wall. "They'll be back soon, and then we'll have to get going with dinner."

Will peered at the pile of gifts for Louise and Carl with a sigh. "I haven't got them anything."

"Oh, you have." Kristen smiled. "You love their son. That's gotta count for something."

"More than you think. He's so unlovable." Becca stuck her tongue out at her brother. Then she frowned. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for."

Aiden blinked. "Okay, who are you, and what have you done with my sister?"

She rolled her eyes. "I can apologize, can't I? I can be mature."

Will stared at her, then laughed, clutching his stomach. "Please. There's only so much a guy can take."

"Seriously though? I'm really happy for the two of you. Especially my ex-fiancé." Becca smiled. "He's getting a good man."

Aiden tilted his head as he stared at Kristen.

Becca leaned toward her. "There are chips in the kitchen. Would you bring us some? I've got the munchies."

"Sure." Kristen stood and left the room.

Becca regarded Aiden with a forthright glance. "Okay—why are you staring at my fiancée?"

"I'm still getting to know her," Aiden remarked. Then he smiled. "But so far? I gotta say, sis… I really like her."

Becca's face lit up. "She's wonderful, isn't she?" Midnight sprang into her lap and butted her chin with his head. Becca shrieked, sending the cat flying across the room to cower under the side table.

Aiden got up and went to retrieve the kitty. "You really aren't a cat person, are you?" He rejoined Will on the couch, Midnight stepping over Aiden's thigh to climb Will's chest.

"Hey, dogs aren't much better, unless they're the big, wuffly variety and not one of those little yapping rats."

Will scritched behind Midnight's ears. "That was really good, kitty. Do it again. Can you make her jump higher next time, though?"

Becca glared at him.

Kristen walked back into the living room carrying two bags of chips.

"Hey, Kristen, you hadn't planned on having a pet or two when you and Becca get married, had you?" Aiden asked.

Kristen snorted. "Please. I've known her for how long? I know what she's like."

"Hey, if you wanted a pet, I would deal." Becca shrugged. "Who knows, maybe I'd even come to love them."

Aiden's eyes widened. "Holy crap, she really is in love."

The front door opened, and Becca made a mad scramble to stuff the unwrapped gifts back into their respective bags. "You're early!" she hollered.

"Want us to go back to Jen and Oliver's?" Carl called out. "I don't think your mom has finished telling them how she makes her eggnog and how it's better than anyone else's."

"I wasn't doing that at all," Louise retorted. "Even if it is true. I mean, soy milk ? Really?"

Will chuckled. "I love your parents."

"Is it safe to stick my head around the door?" Carl demanded.

"Sure." Becca hid the bags behind her.

Carl gave Will a warm smile. "We have one more Christmas Eve tradition to come, but that'll be after dinner. Our highly anticipated, secret dinner." He withdrew.

Will turned to look at Aiden. "What are we having for dinner?" No one had said as yet.

Aiden grinned. "Pizza."

Will gaped. "You're kidding."

"Hey, we're not talking your everyday, store-bought pizza. This is homemade, with toppings you'll never find at Pizza Hut."

Will bit his lip. "You've brought figs, haven't you?"

Aiden waggled his eyebrows.

Carl's words had intrigued him. "So what's the tradition no one's mentioned yet?"

Becca groaned. " Someone not a million miles away took it upon themselves a few years ago to climb up into the attic and root out all Dad's old home movies—and digitize them." She glared at Aiden. "Didn't you, shithead?"

Aiden guffawed. "Yeah, that sounds so mature. Those are Mom and Dad's memories you're bitching about. Ours too. And if I can put up with your usual comments about the color of my bedroom walls, you can stomach Mom aww ing about you in your first tutu."

Will had a feeling it was going to be a fun evening.

Carl and Louise were in the armchairs, Becca and Kristen were on one couch, and Will was on the other, Aiden perched on its arm, his laptop on the side table beside him, the projector next to that.

"I love that we still look at these," Louise murmured. "Home movies are a dying art nowadays. Everything's done on phones."

"You can still save videos done on phone, you know," Becca informed her.

"Good. Because I want videos of my first grandchild taking their first step. You got that? I'm putting in my request now."

Carl chuckled. "How about we let the kids get married first?"

"Aw, look at that." Kristen smiled. "Aiden, what is that you were making?"

"A model of the solar system, out of papier maché and coat hangers."

"How old were you?" Will asked. The little tousled-hair boy was adorable, carefully placing what had to be the sun onto its wire stand.

"Six," Louise told him before Aiden could respond.

Will glanced at Aiden. "You little genius."

Aiden laughed. Then he pointed at the screen Dad had erected. "Aww, look. Becca in her little pink tutu." A chorus of chuckles rippled around the room.

"Do you still wear a tutu?" Louise asked.

Becca rolled her eyes. "Yes, but not that one." She grinned. "Hey, Disneyland! Which means…. Drum roll, if you please…. Aiden getting a hug from Goofy."

"And that's where it all began," Carl observed. Everyone turned to stare at him, Aiden included. "What?" Carl asked with a frown. "Well, Goofy's a boy, right?"

Aiden shook his head.

"And that's Aiden aged fifteen," Louise told Will. "We were going to repaint his bedroom, but he insisted he wanted to do it, right down to choosing the paint."

"See? He was a nerd even then," Becca remonstrated. "Who paints their bedroom walls purple?"

"I was a trendsetter," Aiden retorted.

Will watched as Aiden rolled paint onto the wall before turning to glare at whoever was behind the camera, trying to shoo them from the room.

"And now for the finished article," Carl announced.

Posters covered every inch of wall space.

Will chuckled. "Why go to the bother of painting? You could just have used posters." He had to smile when he peered closer. Handsome faces stared back at him: Taylor Lautner, Zac Efron, Ryan Kwanten, Tyler Posey, Josh Duhamel…

He grinned. "There you go, Carl. I think that's when it all began." Then he laughed. "Aww, you had an Aladdin poster. How sweet."

Louise chuckled. "I remember that phase. You sure loved Aladdin . I bet you wanted to ride that magic carpet."

Becca made a choking sound. "Yeah, Aiden, it was the magic carpet you wanted to ride."

Aiden gave her a hard stare, but the remark seemed to have sailed over his parents' heads. The next section was Aiden's high school graduation. Aiden looked smart in his cap and gown, laughing with his friends.

One in particular caught Will's attention.

"Who's that?"

"His name was Steve Bennow," Aiden told him.

"He was such a good-looking boy," Louise commented. "I liked him."

Becca grinned. "So did Aiden, now I come to think about it." She leaned forward to catch Aiden's attention. "Was he your first crush?"

That earned her another fierce glare.

Will nudged him. "You've got good taste."

Aiden turned to gaze at him. "Yeah, I do," he said softly.

Louise sighed. "I wonder where all these young people are now, what they're doing… I lost track of all my high school friends, and yet when I was sixteen, I thought we'd be together for the rest of our lives." She got up from the couch. "More snacks, anyone?"

A chorus of requests followed her out of the room

Aiden paused the recording. "I don't have to wonder where Steve is concerned," he whispered.

"What?"

He removed his phone from his pocket and scrolled. Aiden laid a finger on his lips as he handed the phone to Will.

It took all Will's effort not to gasp. According to the OnlyFans tag at the bottom of the screen, Steve Bennow was now Tyler Raw, and judging by the moans pouring from the guy whose ass he was drilling with a very large dick, he was good at what he did.

"Oh my God. Did you know he was gay in high school?" Will kept his voice low.

Aiden gaped. "No! And if I'd known what he'd end up doing, I'd have gotten him to at least give me a blow job."

Will coughed. "I'm glad you waited until your mom had left the room before telling me that." He shifted on the seat cushion, resisting the urge to adjust his crotch.

Aiden grinned. "You got a problem?"

"Yes, I do, and tonight you can help me solve it—as long as you don't make as much noise as Tyler. Because if either of your parents decide to investigate, I'm packing my bag and going back to Minnesota."

Aiden moved in to whisper. "That's what pillows and ball gags are for. To muffle the sound."

Will froze. Wait .

"You don't actually have a ball gag, do you?"

He just smiled and stroked a finger under Will's chin. "We can talk about it later."

A whole lot later, Will hoped, when there was no chance of being interrupted.

It seemed Christmas had come early, whereas Will would be doing his best not to do so. Well, either that, or come as many times as was possible before Christmas finally arrived.